Lifeline
by aletheswan
Summary: Every way to kill Klaus has failed so far. When a new one is found, it has a beating heart and a connection to the darkest past. Not to mention the mysterious present. But do they really want to use it?


I sighed quietly as the temperature inside the car reached a moderate level, warming me up considerably and erasing the cold I had felt after my fight with Damon in the chilly night air outside the Grill. The things he had said were half-insulting and only succeeded in making me feel upset. I knew he was drunk and perhaps angry, so I avoided getting into a serious argument.

The situation for me at that time was anything but brilliant, given my recent involvement with Klaus and the recent discovery that the stalker who had abducted my father was probably back, trying to hurt the rest of my family for reasons only known to him.

I was pushed forward as the engine stopped abruptly, my first instinct being checking the tank for gas, which I knew I had filled the day before, so it couldn't be empty. I tried starting it again, and another time after that, but to no avail. I knew nothing about engines, except some things that would serve no purpose and would definitely not help me fix it, so this fortunate event effectively trapped me on the road sometime past eleven.

I still don't know why I thought getting out of the car to check if the engine was flooded or smoking of anything, but staying inside probably wouldn't have done me much good either.

I slammed the door in slight annoyance at having to call and wait for a mechanic at this hour, walking to the front of the car and sighing again before lifting the hood, bracing myself for the sight of something melted.

Amazingly, I was partly right- there was smoke, even if not as much as I had expected, and it smelled like something overheated, but when the smoke cleared up slightly I could see nothing had changed its physical state.

"Hello Katelyn."

My eyes closed for a couple of seconds when it dawned on me whose that voice was. I was pretty hesitant to turn around, not that she couldn't hurt me with my back turned.

As soon as Rebekah entered my line of sight, I knew I would probably not get out alive, because she looked angry and we were alone on some Godforsaken road at midnight.

"Car problems?"

I resisted the urge to scoff; of course it had been her, she's been around long enough to know how to sabotage a car.

I raised both eyebrows as if to ask 'You think?', which I knew would provoke her, but I wouldn't show her I was feeling scared either, so I decided to go with the normal approach.

"Heard about your fight with Damon, are you alright?" she asked, not moving from her spot a few meters away from me.

"What, you care?" I retorted with the same amount of sarcasm she'd used.

Her irritation showed up on her features, twisting them into the look of a murderer. A very well dressed murderer from the few glances I took at her attire, but what she was wearing was the least important. The intent to kill she radiated though, that was what concerned me.

"You're right, I couldn't care less about your relationship with Damon. But I do have a problem when you're involved with my brother." she spoke in her usual tone, narrowing her eyes at me.

My eyes wandered for a few moments, looking at anything but her. It wasn't because I felt guilty or anything of the sort, but because I couldn't understand her accusation.

Truthfully, I've recently found Klaus' company to be less disturbing and him to be less threatening or destructive with what concerned me. Klaus and I merely went from general dislike to moderate toleration, but that didn't mean we were anything more than two people who knew each other.

I thought she was just overreacting, as I've learned her nature to be, but by looking at her expression, I realized she was serious about her conviction and she honestly believed I was somehow on better terms with Klaus than her or anyone for that matter.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have no connection with Klaus."

She smiled in a way that was, if anything, sinister, and even if I couldn't see her face very well, her eyes darkened considerably, warning me of the vampire taking over. Although I was wary, the most I could do was shut up or stop provoking her. Of course, not provoking her meant shutting up and talking only if she demanded an answer.

"You can be sure you won't."

I only had time to move a little bit before her teeth tore into my neck and I instantly perceived a very sharp pain while feeling like a little animal about to be swallowed whole by a snake with sharp teeth.

But that was not the end of the story.


End file.
